Felice Lieh-Mak

Felice Lieh–Mak is a Hong Kong physician, psychiatrist, academician, editor and retired civil servant, and emeritus professor at the University of Hong Kong.

Background

She graduated from the University of Santo Tomas in the Philippines and undertook specialty training in London, joining the University of Hong Kong in 1978. She was a member of Hong Kong's Legislative and Executive Councils, served as chairwoman of the Medical Council and of the English Schools Foundation, as president of the World Psychiatric Association, and as an advisor to the United Nations and the World Health Organization.

Education

University of Santo Tomas, MD, 1964, Medicine, Philippines
Licentiate of Apothecaries LAH, 1967 Medicine Hall, Dublin, Ireland

Notable appointments

1966–67: Senior House Officer, Littlemore Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
1968–69: Medical Officer in Psychiatry, Castle Peak Hospital, Hong Kong
1970–70: Senior House Officer, Littlemore Hospital, Oxford University
1971–78: Lecturer, Department of Psychiatry, University of Hong Kong
1974–74: Honorary Registrar, Park Hospital for Children, Oxford University
1974–74: Honorary Registrar, Warneford Hospital, Oxford University
1978–81: Senior Lecturer, Department of Psychiatry, University of Hong Kong
1981–83: Reader, Department of Psychiatry, University of Hong Kong
1990–94: President, Hong Kong College of Psychiatrists
1992–97: Member, Executive Council, Governor's Cabinet, Hong Kong
1993–98: Chairman, Kowloon Regional Advisory Committee of the Hospital Authority
1993–96: President, World Psychiatric Association
1994–96: Chief Examiner, Hong Kong College of Psychiatrists
1994–97: Chairman, Kwai Chung Hospital Governing Committee
1996–99: Chairman, Education Foundation, World Psychiatric Association

Notable affiliations

1979–present: Consultant, University Health Service, University of Hong Kong
1980–present: Consultant, Hong Kong Government
1983–present: Professor and Head, Department of Psychiatry, University of Hong Kong
1983–present: Honorary Advisor, Hong Kong Mental Health Association
1987–present: Member, Editorial Board, Journal of the Hong Kong Medical Association
1991–present: Member, International Editorial Board, Journal of Stress and Depression
1994–present: Corresponding Editor, British Journal of Psychiatry
1994–present: Consultant, World Health Organization
1994–present: Member, Editorial Board of the Hong Kong Medical Association
1996–present: Member, Editorial Board, Current Opinion in Psychiatry
1997–1999: Chairman, Hong Kong Medical Council
1997–present: Member, Editorial Advisory Board, Journal of Mental Health Policy and Economics
1998–present: Chairman, Task Force on Review of Psychiatric Services
1998–present: Member, Steering Committee on Healthcare Financing of the Hong Kong Government
1998–2001: President, Asian Union Against Depression and Related Disorders
1999–present: Chairman of Queen Mary Hospital's Planning Committee
1999–present: Member, Working Group on Quality Assurance, Medical Council of Hong Kong
1999–present: Member, Global Forum for Health Research of the WHO/World Bank Mental Health Reform Initiative

Notable honours/fellowships

August 1981: Fellow of the World Association for Social Psychiatry
October 1983: Fellow of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists
December 1985: Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists
August 1989: Outstanding Woman Physician
April 1990: Corresponding Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association
March 1991: Corresponding Fellow of the German Association for Psychiatry & Neurology
October 1991: Honorary Member of the Italian Society of Psychiatry
January 1992: Honorary Member of the Egyptian Psychiatric Association
June 1994: Honorary Fellowship of the Royal College of Psychiatrists
May 1995: Asian-American Award of The American Psychiatric Association
October 1995: Fellow of the New York Academy of Science
August 1996: Honorary Fellow of the World Psychiatry Association
June 1997: Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire

Notable patients

Leslie Cheung

Felice Lieh-Mak was the psychiatrist of Leslie Cheung, one of the most famous pop music icons in Asia. Leslie Cheung suffered from severe depression and sought treatment from Professor Lieh-Mak for almost a year. Despite her treatment effort Leslie Cheung finally killed himself by leaping off from the 24th floor of the Mandarin Oriental hotel, located in the Central district of Hong Kong Island, citing depression as the cause. As one of the most popular performers in Asia, Cheung's death broke the hearts of millions of his fans across Asia and shocked the Asian entertainment industry and Chinese community worldwide.
Cheung's suicide note :

"Depression! Many thanks to all my friends. Many thanks to Professor Felice Lieh-Mak. This year has been so tough. I can't stand it anymore. Many thanks to Mr. Tong. Many thanks to my family. Many thanks to Sister Fei. In my life I have done nothing bad. Why does it have to be like this?"

Despite the high profile of the patient, no comment has been given by Lieh-Mak on this incident.

Controversies

Felice Lieh-Mak was involved in a case of failure to take proper steps to ensure complete removal of medical equipment which allegedly resulted in suicide of one of her patients after suffering from years of unbearable pain. The incident involved leaving behind a 2 mm long broken needle in the facial region of the patient. When confronted by the patient, Lieh-Mak maintained that the needle used in the electroconvulsive therapy, a common procedure practised in psychiatry, was put in and removed by a technician and that she had no responsibility for the mishap. This is in contradiction to one of her most controversial verdicts as Chairperson of the Medical Council Inquiry. On 9 May 2018 a doctor was found guilty of medical misconduct for failing to supervise his fellow nursing staff to perform standard tracheostomy care even though the doctor was not involved in the procedure, nor was he aware of that particular procedure which allegedly led to the patient's death.